nd of the
story," concluded Old Mr. Toad.

XV

HOW OLD MR. HERON LEARNED PATIENCE

XV

HOW OLD MR. HERON LEARNED PATIENCE

Whenever in the spring or summer Peter Rabbit visited the Smiling Pool
or the Laughing Brook, he was pretty sure to run across Longlegs the
Heron. The first tune Peter saw him, he thought that never in all his
life had he seen such a homely fellow. Longlegs was standing with his
feet in the water and his head drawn back on his shoulders so that he
didn't seem to have any neck at all. Peter sat and stared at him most
impolitely. He knew that he was impolite, but for the life of him he
couldn't help staring.

"He's all legs," thought Peter. "Old Mother Nature must have been in a
hurry when she made his great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather way back
when the world was young and forgot to give him a neck. I wonder why he
doesn't move."

But Longlegs didn't move. Peter stared as long as his patience held out.
Then he gave up and went on to see what else he could find. But in a
little while Peter was back again at the place where he had seen
Longlegs. He didn't really expect to find him there, but he did. So far
as Peter could see, Longlegs hadn't moved. "Must be asleep," thought
Peter, and after watching for a few minutes, went away again. Half an
hour later Peter was once more back. There stood Longlegs just as
before. "Now I _know_ he is asleep," muttered Peter.

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than something happened,
something so sudden and surprising that Peter lost his balance and
nearly fell over backward. The long bill which Peter had seen sticking
forth from between those humped-up shoulders darted out and down into
the water like a flash. Behind that bill was the longest neck Peter ever
had seen! It was so long that Peter blinked to be perfectly sure that
his eyes had not been playing him a trick. But they hadn't, for Longlegs
was gulping down a little fish he had just caught, and when at last it
was down, he stretched his neck up very straight while he looked this
way and that way, and Peter just gasped.

"I thought he was all legs, but instead of that he's all neck," muttered
Peter.

Then Longlegs slowly drew his head down, and it seemed to Peter as if he
must somehow wind that long neck up inside his body to get it so
completely out of the way. In a min